GliaCure is pleased to announce that Dr. Rudy Schreiber has joined the team as Vice President of Translational Research and Development. Dr. Schreiber previously held positions at Roche, Sepracor and Evotec, where he developed expertise and leadership in behavioral studies with a specific focus on CNS projects. His experience as a scientist and as a…more »

A recent study out of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and published in the journal Neurology reports that deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease are greatly under-reported. The death certificate and medical records of Alzheimer’s patients frequently list the immediate cause of death, such as pneumonia, rather than the underlying cause, which is the inability to fight…more »

On February 10, 2014 the ALZFORUM (www.alzforum.org) highlighted work by a team from Columbia University showing that astrocytes, a specialized type of glia cell, cause the death of motor neurons in an in vitro study of cells from ALS patients. The authors of the study are now trying to identify the toxic factor that astrocytes…more »

On February 4, 2014 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the formation of the new Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) to focus on three areas of research, including Alzheimer’s disease. This partnership, which brings together high level government entities, 10 biopharmaceutical companies and several non-profit organizations, is intended to identify and validate biomarkers of disease…more »

NIH neuroscientist Douglas Fields recently called for glia to be included in the BRAIN mapping initiative. The initiative, part of a new Presidential focus aimed at revolutionizing our understanding of the human brain, was announced in April 2013. The original intent of the project was to map out neuronal connections, but as Fields pointed out…more »

GliaCure has recently been joined by Alan Barber of the Prestar Group as its CFO. Alan began his career as a CPA with Coopers & Lybrand. As a partner in Coopers Dallas and Tokyo offices his responsibilities included Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Leader for the Southwest Region and Partner-in-Charge of the Foreign Financial Services practice…more »

A group from the Netherlands has recently reported on a likely role for glia in schizophrenia susceptibility. Based on studies that glial cells play a significant role in synaptic transmission the group carried out a a functional gene set analysis to test for the combined effects of genetic variants in glial type-specific genes for association with…more »

A manuscript published in the May 5 edition of Nature Medicine documents research findings that stimulating endogenous ATP release from astrocytes induces antidepressant-like effects in mouse models of depression. The authors summarize their study by stating that: “Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the antidepressant-like effect of ATP may allow the identification of new targets for…more »

A new study recently published by GliaCure President Phil Haydon’s research lab at Tufts University indicates that astrocytes play a vital role in the spread of damage after stroke. This study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, suggests that, while researchers have previously focused on the role of neurons and their release of neurotransmitters in…more »